Aftermath of Hurricane Helene in the NC mountains, late fall 2024

Fall colors aren't quite over yet in North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Parkway goes right next to Asheville. Getting the road open to the Folk Art Center is a big deal. The Biltmore estate and gardens re-opened on Nov. 2. They set up for Christmas, as they usually do in late fall. Hopefully there will be people heading to the area to spend some tourist dollars in the next couple months. If I weren't headed to Boston for Snowbound Expo, I'd probably make a short trip to Asheville in the next couple weeks.
Don’t drink the Asheville tap water yet.
When I went to Milan the folks there didn’t drink their tap water either so there’s that.
 
The Asheville water system got back to normal yesterday. Water from the North Fork reservoir is being treated, "raw water" has been flushed from the entire system, and testing has been completed all over the system. So there is no longer a "boil water" situation in effect.

The recent updates in the Citizen-Times included various notes related to debris removal in the city. It will be a long time before the "new normal" is established in the area, even in the areas of the city and towns that were not devastated by direct flooding or debris flows.

I-40 at the NC/TN line could open by New Year's with 1-lane each way for cars. Commercial truck traffic is out of luck for for foreseeable future. Won't be the first time in recent decades that a major repair has meant long detours for tractor-trailers. Usually because of landslides, not the complete undermining of the roadbed.

November 5, 2024
 
I-40 at the NC/TN line could open by New Year's with 1-lane each way for cars. Commercial truck traffic is out of luck for for foreseeable future. Won't be the first time in recent decades that a major repair has meant long detours for tractor-trailers. Usually because of landslides, not the complete undermining of the roadbed.
Not gonna open for awhile due to another slide in the sketchy place.
The engineer dude made a recent Utube detailing his thoughts.
 
At the same time, there has been progress in many places. I stopped by Asheville in Dec 2024 on the way to Colorado. Spent a couple days in Lake Lure with my husband in May.

One lane is each direction on I-40 at the TN/NC border is open. Chimney Rock State Park will re-open at limited capacity at the end of June. A temporary bridge was built to provide access.

One of the restaurants that used to be in the town of Chimney Rock moved to Lake Lure. Businesses around Lake Lure are open even though the lake is not. It's been drained enough to allow lots of dredging in several areas. Won't be re-opened as a recreational lake for a year. It's not a water supply reservoir.

Not the most exciting video, but gives an idea of the amount of effort required to re-open a washed out road that is a main access for a small mountain town. Black Mountain is about 15 miles east of Asheville. RT 9 connects Bat Cave to Black Mountain. Without that road, it takes twice as long to get to Asheville. That means tourists visiting Asheville are less likely to visit Bat Cave or Chimney Rock.

June 3, 2025

Lake Lure near Rumbling Bald Resort, May 2025
Lake Lure May 2025 - 1.jpeg


Lake Lure Beach (on the left), near town center
Lake Lure May 2025 - 2.jpeg
 
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